 Expedition to Castle Ravenloft cover. | |
| Rules required | Dungeons & Dragons version 3.5 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Bruce R. Cordell andJames Wyatt |
| First published | 2006 |
Expedition to Castle Ravenloft is amodule for theDungeons & Dragons (D&D)role-playing game, released in October 2006 byWizards of the Coast.
Expedition to Castle Ravenloft is a 226-pagehardcover book, released as an updated and expanded version of the originalRavenloft module for theD&D v3.5 ruleset. This returned the adventure to its roots, stripping the demiplane setting of the Ravenloft campaign.[1] This expanded version was designed to be able to run a mini-campaign for about 20 sessions taking characters from level 6 to 10, with options for instead running long (8 session), short (4 session) or single session adventures.[2]: 17 It includes suggestions for incorporating the adventure into an existing generic,Forgotten Realms,Eberron ord20 Modern campaign, but makes no mention of doing so in a Ravenloftcampaign setting.[2]: 19
The module was designed byBruce R. Cordell andJames Wyatt. It was published in October 2006. Cover art was byKev Walker, with interior art byDave Allsop,Kalman Andrasofsky,Ralph Horsley,William O'Connor,Lucio Parrillo,Anne Stokes andEva Widermann.
Expedition to Castle Ravenloft reimagines the originalRavenloft adventure, and does not make use of any other Ravenloft material but rather incorporates new design from Bruce Cordell and James Wyatt intended to complement material from the original adventure.[3]
In his 2011 book, Shannon Appelcline discussed howDungeons & Dragons edition 3.0 had only lasted three years, and that by 2006 players started to wonder if Wizards of the Coast might be preparing a fourth edition ofDungeons & Dragons: "The release ofExpedition to Castle Ravenloft (2006) might just have offered another clue to the changing winds that lay ahead. First, it was a new line for 3.5e, suggesting that their original series of 3.5e books was coming to an end. Second, it was a fond look back at one of the most notable adventures from theAD&D days, just the sort of thing that Wizards published in the waning days of 2e. MoreExpedition books followed the next year, includingExpedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk (2007), a long-awaited return to the most famous dungeon in roleplaying."[4]: 294 Appelcline later noted that, once fourth edition was officially announced: "TheExpedition books that had begun publication in 2006 were revealed to indeed be part of Wizard's slow slide into 4e."[4]: 295
TheGamer in 2022 ranked it as #4 on their list of "The Best 3.5 Edition Adventures".[5]